The Education Department (EdDep) of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport is encouraged to investigate the decline in student reading performance for year four and six. PILNA data show that less than half the students of both year levels performed at or above the minimum proficiency level for reading. One policy suggestion is for all schools to have a programme where all students drop everything and read. The ministry should also make every effort to strengthen the supply of books to schools.

The Education Department (EdDep) is encouraged to investigate and narrow the gap in achievement between boys and girls in numeracy, reading and writing. PILNA has consistently found that girls outperform boys in all domains. This gender disparity is a matter of concern as the pattern has been the same for the last four cycles of PILNA.

The Education Department (EdDep) is encouraged to provide supplementary training for teachers in the development and use of classroom-based informal and formative assessment. Teachers are to identify specific needs of students, tailor instruction to meet these needs and monitor the effectiveness of the instruction to optimise student learning.

The Education Department (EdDep) is encouraged to undertake further exploration of the PILNA 2021 cognitive and contextual data sets, along with other relevant data sets, to better understand the challenges facing students and teachers in Tuvalu. The findings can be used to target support and intervention in the Tuvalu education system, with the goal of strengthening numeracy, reading and writing instruction, leading to improved student learning outcomes.

Teachers are encouraged to employ strategies such as educator modelling, think-aloud and questioning to teach children how to make inferences when reading. PILNA data reveal that year four and six students were able to find information in various types of texts but, when required to infer information from clues in the text or provide critical analysis, they struggled to complete this activity.

Teachers are encouraged to support year four and year six students in the numeracy concepts of place value, fractions, measurements and problem-solving. The PILNA data highlighted the areas where students struggle, and intervention strategies must be in place to continue to support these students. Further exploration of the coding data is required to dig deeper into what students know and do not know and areas where they need support.